Number of Utah companies offering health insurance dropping

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Randall Jeppesen reportingThe number of Utah companies offering health insurance to employees is dropping faster than the national average.

From 2001 to 2005 the number of Utah companies offering health insurance to their employees dropped nearly 9 percent.

"When you're uninsured, you're going without preventative care," said Judi Hilman, executive director of the Utah Health Policy Project.

Hilman says one reason the health coverage is dropping is because Utah is full of small, start-up businesses, which is good for the economy. "The downside of that is that small businesses cannot manage risk with the current insurance business model," she said.

Local business and community leaders are holding a panel discussion this week to talk about the health coverage problem.

E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com